We moved here (the Waco, Texas area) thirteen years ago this August. Our children were ten and six years old. We moved here from Kansas City, Mo. Our children grew up in a good church. We raised them here, in this faith community and in the larger community of central Texas. Now this is… Continue reading Learning to Be a Parent?
Category: Family
Why Are Men Often Silent? (Part 3)
You’ve been patient with these posts on men and silence. This will conclude this series. I want to mention a few things that have been helpful to me in countering an unhealthy silence. I have put each one of these in the form of a suggestion. You can probably think of many that I do… Continue reading Why Are Men Often Silent? (Part 3)
Why Are Men Often Silent? (Part 2)
I am writing this on Memorial Day morning. It is early in the morning. When I got up, I met youngest daughter and her very good friend in the kitchen (the daughter of good friends). They had been in our house during the night. They had not slept yet. (Other friends left about thirty minutes… Continue reading Why Are Men Often Silent? (Part 2)
Why Are Men Often Silent? (Part 1)
"That’s my dad over there." I looked and finally saw the gray hair gentleman sitting at a table, waiting for the next lecture to begin. We were all at a preaching seminar in Austin. (I was there Monday through Wednesday of this week). The break was almost over and I was talking to a younger… Continue reading Why Are Men Often Silent? (Part 1)
Control Freak?
You’ve known them, I’m sure. They are often loud and brash. Verbal bullies. They have learned they can get their way through strong talk. Some people like this will lace their speech with profanities. They often either intimidate people or finally wear them down. Some people deal with them by always giving in. "I don’t… Continue reading Control Freak?
When God Enters Your Private World
Yesterday, he spoke-this young, soon-to-be father. He is in a Bible class I am teaching on Sunday morning. This class consists of people in their early to mid twenties, a few married and others single. A number of them are in a graduate school of some kind. For the last three weeks, we have devoted… Continue reading When God Enters Your Private World
41 Things Parents Ought to Know (Part 4 of 4)
31. Every child is raised by an imperfect parent. As a parent, I can’t fulfill my child’s deepest needs. Only God can. He is the only perfect parent. 32. Children need hope. They need to see how mom and dad deal with disappointment. They need to see that their parents can experience disappointment, but… Continue reading 41 Things Parents Ought to Know (Part 4 of 4)
41 Things Parents Ought to Know (Part 3 of 4)
21. There is no sure fire formula for child rearing. Are there important basic principles? Yes. However, beware of people who seem to have all the answers for everything related to rearing children. Most of us are still learning. 22. A parent’s job is not to "fix" everything that goes wrong. Some parents are constantly… Continue reading 41 Things Parents Ought to Know (Part 3 of 4)
41 Things Parents Ought to Know (Part 2 of 4)
11. Pay now or pay later. Allowing smaller children to disobey, talk disrespectfully, and experience little discipline will usually come back to haunt parents later. Better to pay the price of dealing with these behaviors and attitudes early before it gets even more difficult. 12. Parenting is a ministry. Your children have been loaned… Continue reading 41 Things Parents Ought to Know (Part 2 of 4)
41 Things Parents Ought to Know (Part 1 of 4)
Over the next few weeks, I will be posting some basic things parents ought to know. Most of these come from years of both being a parent and watching many, many other parents. 1. Parents need to wrestle with their long term vision. "What kind of person are we rearing this child to be? What… Continue reading 41 Things Parents Ought to Know (Part 1 of 4)